Tributes pour in for popular Islamic scholar who died in Kwara flood

Tributes from top personalities and groups within and outside Kwara State have continued to pour in for late Islamic scholar, Sheikh AbdulGaniy Aboto who died in a flood incident last weekend.

The popular scholar was reportedly returning from a Dawah activity in Niger State when his Toyota Yaris car was swept away during a downpour at Harmony Estate/Akerebiata bridge area of Kwara State together with two of his students.

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The car and the bodies of the three of them were discovered a day after the incident after the flood waters subsided.

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and hundreds of Muslim faithful and sympathisers defied the rain to attend his janazah (funeral prayers) in Ilorin, the state capital. 

In his condolence message, Governor AbdulRazaq described Aboto’s death who was a memorizer of the entire Quran as shocking and sad.

“This, indeed, is one sad news too many. The death of Sheikh Abdulganiy Aboto is a huge loss for the Muslim community and to Ilorin as a whole. He was known for his vast knowledge and great efforts in the propagation of Islamic message in the simplest form possible for his audience”, the Governor added in statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye.

According to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Aboto’s death has left another vacuum in the dawah activities in the Ilorin Emirate and beyond. 

The Emir, in his condolence message issued by his spokesman, Abdulazeez Arowona, recalled the roles played by the late Aboto in promoting morality, good conducts and the fear of God among the general public with reference to the Holy Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

For the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), the deceased scholar was as a “meticulous teacher, superlative preacher and remarkable community leader who served Islam and humanity with utmost dedication”.

Sheikh Aboto was a man with unique style of preaching and a member of the class of clerics who were always conscious and focussed on their responsibilities to the society, said the national president of the union, Alh Aliyu Otta-Uthman, in a statement signed on his behalf by the union’s publicity secretary, Mal. Nurudeen Ibrahim.